In Brief
Kishan Singh was convicted of murder after fatally striking Govind Singh with an axe while attempting to attack his wife during a drunken quarrel. The High Court modified the conviction from murder (Section 302 IPC) to culpable homicide not amounting to murder (Section 304 Part-I IPC), citing absence of premeditation. The Supreme Court upheld this modified conviction, relying on extra-judicial confessions and other evidence despite the victim's wife turning hostile. However, the Court reduced the sentence from life imprisonment to ten years, finding the circumstances warranted a more lenient approach while maintaining the conviction."
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